Democrats are apparently so upset about President Donald Trump that they are willing to resort to barely-constitutional means to get rid of him. That’s the takeaway from a disturbing exchange in Congress on Thursday, where a California Democrat told Housing Secretary Ben Carson that he needs to familiarize himself with a clause in the Constitution that allowed his Cabinet officials to remove him from office. Unable or unwilling to put together a proper impeachment scenario in the House, Democrats are now calling on federal officials to use the 25th Amendment to remove Trump, even though there is literally no U.S. precedent for doing anything of the sort.

You want to see an actual, live civil war in America? This sounds like an excellent way to achieve it.

Perhaps this is merely political rhetoric of the most irresponsible order, but even so, it is chilling to watch Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) talk of insurrection in a House committee meeting.

“Beyond your responsibilities for Housing and Urban Development, you have other responsibilities under the Constitution, along with other Cabinet secretaries, particularly Section 4 of the 25th Amendment,” Sherman told Carson on Thursday at a Financial Services Committee meeting. “And we all live by this Constitution.”

Hijacking the unrelated hearing, Sherman continued: “Section 4 deals with the possibility that a president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Have you taken the time to get legal counsel to brief you on what your responsibility is, as a Cabinet secretary, under the 25th Amendment?”

A puzzled Carson said, “I have not had any in-depth discussions of that.”

“I would urge you to do so,” said Sherman. “This amendment was written in the early ’60s as a result of what we — life that happens, whether it’s the dangers that a president faces, whether it’s the health problems a president can face. I would urge you first to get legal counsel, to know what your responsibilities are, and second, to discuss with other Cabinet officers how you would implement Section 4 of the 25th Amendment.”

Talk of removing President Trump using the 25th Amendment has been popular in the liberal blogosphere this year, but it’s quite another thing entirely to see it openly discussed on the House floor by lawmakers. Sherman should be censured by House Speaker Paul Ryan and removed from office at the earlier opportunity by the voters in his California district. This goes beyond political disagreement and into the realm of a third-world coup. If a Republican congressman had said anything CLOSE to this during the Obama years, it would be on the front page of every newspaper in America.